About the Building Technology Heritage Library

The BTHL contains materials from various private and institutional collections. These materials are rarely available in most architectural and professional libraries. The first major architectural trade catalog collection is that of the Canadian Centre for Architecture, which encompasses more that 4,000 catalogs from the early 19th century through 1963. In addition to the architectural trade catalogs, the initial contributions include a large number of house plan catalogs, which will be of great interest to owners of older homes. The future growth of the Building Technology Heritage Library will also include contemporary materials on building conservation.

Searching the collection

The BTHL keywords include the standard subject headings used by the Library of Congress and an additional nomenclature used by the Construction Specifications Institute (CSI). The CSI Master Format 2004 Numbers and Titles have been used for most materials. This will allow contemporary practitioners to search through historic archives with a modern nomenclature.

The Construction Specification Institute Master Format 2004 Numbers and Titles

Association for Preservation Technology International is a cross-disciplinary, membership organization dedicated to promoting the best technology for conserving historic structures and their settings. APT is an international organization based in North America. APT members, who hail from more than 30 countries, include preservationists, architects, engineers, conservators, consultants, contractors, crafts persons, curators, developers, educators, historians, landscape architects, students, technicians, and other persons directly involved in the application of methods and materials to maintain, conserve, and protect historic structures and sites for future use and appreciation. The international, interdisciplinary character of APT - with its outstanding publications, conferences, training courses, awards, student scholarships, regional chapters, and technical committees - makes it the premier worldwide network for anyone involved in the field of historic preservation.

Thanks to our sponsors and contributors:

The Building Technology Heritage Library has been supported by grants from the Richard H. Driehaus Foundation, the Historic Preservation Education Foundation, the National Center for Preservation Training and Technology and the Illinois Historic Preservation Agency. In kind contributions have been provided by the Association for Preservation Technology, the Internet Archive, the Canadian Centre for Architecture, Mike Jackson, FAIA, and Dean Koga.